-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Rivalry , dislike , even hatred are common emotions in the workplace . Add testosterone and adrenaline to the pot , stir and you have a potentially combustible concoction -- just ask Boris Becker and Michael Stich .

In August 1992 , Becker and Stich had much to celebrate as the duo became the first German tennis team to win Olympic gold -- beating South Africa to claim the men 's doubles title in Spain .

The Spanish night was young and Becker had arranged a dinner that night for Stich and a couple of other German athletes , but Becker says his partner preferred to take the first plane out of Barcelona rather than toast their success .

Twenty years on , two of Germany 's most celebrated tennis players -- whose personal relationship was limited by an intense rivalry -- have still to raise a glass to their historic win .

`` When we won , all I remember was just hugging each other , like we were brothers , but believe me -- that would have been impossible a week prior to the tournament , '' Becker told CNN .

`` Hopefully , one day we will be mature enough to sit down , have a bottle of red wine and just talk -LRB- about it -RRB- .

`` You know , I won it because of him and he won it because of me . It 's never going to go away so hopefully , we 'll be able to celebrate this great achievement one of these years . ''

The Olympics had come at the height of the duo 's rivalry , says Becker , with the pair not just the best tennis players in Germany but also the world , as they vied with one another for major honors .

Only a year earlier , Stich had beaten Becker in the first all-German men 's final at Wimbledon .

Yet although the partnership 's strength was tested on repeated occasions in Spain , with their last three matches all going to five sets , Stich and Becker came through -- a result of single-minded ambition in their two-man team , says a British sports psychologist .

`` Research has shown that their rivalry would not necessarily have affected the outcome because they would still have wanted to win for themselves , '' says Dan Abrahams .

`` There may have been hostility on a social level but it was only what happened on court -- and coming together to achieve their task -- that mattered . ''

Becker says it was during the quarterfinal against Spain 's Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez , who were both higher-ranked and playing at home , that the German team finally put their egos aside , once they realized that only teamwork could pull them through .

`` When I 'm working with teams as a psychologist , I reinforce the concept that if we are going to set team goals then everyone needs to be working together , '' says Abrahams , who is currently working for Premier League football club Queens Park Rangers .

`` It is not the end of the world if players are not friends . Research in sports psychology suggests that players do not have to like each other for a team to be successful . ''

Down the rabbit hole : Depression in the Premier League

There can be fewer finer examples of that across any discipline than the on-field relationship between former Manchester United strikers Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham .

During their four years at United , the pair formed a fluid forward partnership that contributed to three league titles , one FA Cup and a European Champions League crown .

All of this was achieved despite the fact that they never talked to one another , with Cole having taken grave offense to a perceived slight from Sheringham during the former 's England debut in 1995 .

Cole , who is still the Premier League 's second highest scorer of all time , said in 2010 that he would rather socialize with a player who broke his leg in two places than `` with Teddy Sheringham , who I 've pretty much detested for the past 15 years .

`` We played together for years . We scored a lot of goals . I never spoke a single word to him . ' ''

One reason why Sheringham and Cole could channel their enmity for the good of the team was the influence of Sir Alex Ferguson .

The Manchester United manager has handled countless dressing room rows during his time -- and he is not afraid to drop players in a bid to promote competition , as he did last month when benching Wayne Rooney in favor of new signing Robin van Persie .

`` Team sports can often be individual sports because each individual is trying to be chosen for the team and garner the manager 's attentions , so team sports lend towards some rivalry within the team , '' says Abraham .

`` That can be a good thing for management because if you have two players vying for a place , that brings out the best of them in training , their focus and in matches .

`` However , it can be detrimental to their performance on the pitch if they are not working cohesively so it can be a double-edged sword . ''

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There are a host of examples of teams that have suffered when protagonists have clashed -- with Dutch footballers regularly falling out before suffering premature exits at major international competitions , their French counterparts doing their best to emulate them in recent tournaments while teams in golf 's Ryder Cup and Formula 1 have been undone by feuding stars down the years .

The 2004 Ryder Cup was a case in point as U.S. captain Hal Sutton made an enormous gamble as he paired two very contrasting figures together , in the hope that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson could set aside their differences to create a `` Dream Team '' .

A pairing described as making `` oil and water look like a perfect match '' duly lost both their matches as they helped the Europeans retain the trophy in comprehensive fashion .

Meanwhile , intra-team rivalries have ruined partnerships in F1 , with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost repeatedly at loggerheads during their time together at McLaren in the late 1980s .

Although their two years together resulted in a championship apiece , their frequent clashes -- some of which came on the track -- prompted the Frenchman to leave McLaren , no doubt regretting his decision to persuade the stable to sign Senna as he did so .

Earlier that decade , when one feuding F1 driver -LRB- Argentina 's Carlos Reutemann -RRB- had suggested to a team colleague -LRB- Alan Jones -RRB- that they bury the hatchet , the Australian 's reply -- `` yeah , in your back '' -- typified the emotions when rivalries run deep .

They have of course spilled over into premeditated physical violence before , most notably when American figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding clashed in 1994 .

Three years on from winning medals as teammates at the world championships , Harding 's bodyguard and ex-husband hired an assailant to break one of Kerrigan 's legs ahead of the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships -- a feat Shane Stant failed to achieve , even if he did inflict enough damage to ensure Kerrigan withdrew from a tournament that Harding went on to win .

Despite denying any involvement , Harding was later stripped of her title and banned for life from participating in any further figure-skating events in the United States .

Amid all this dressing room tension as players try to be the main man and with enmity between teammates potentially sinking any team , Abrahams warns that strong friendships between players can also bring complications .

`` An element of closeness between players can become a problem for a manager in that they wo n't demand more from each other . You need to be very robust to be best mates with someone but give them a rollicking from time to time .

`` My experience suggests that players who are good mates will give each other a grilling , but they need to be better at their style of communication as this can create trouble . ''

The `` Secret Footballer '' , a current player who writes anonymously about life at the top of the English game , is in agreement , saying how he has played `` in teams where it could be argued that some players were too close to each other and so were unable to really deliver a bollocking when the situation called for it . ''

Behind the scenes with Graf and Agassi

Abrahams believes the individual nature of tennis , where players are so accustomed to winning and losing by themselves , enables them to deal with any hostility when playing doubles better than those who take part in team sports .

But he does not discount the players ' strength of mind .

`` Strong characters like Becker and Stich can deal with an intense rivalry but the less robust can not , '' says Abrahams .

Indeed , the German duo -- who had a grudging respect for one another -- were admirably successful in temporarily shelving their differences as they united to win gold for their nation .

`` Because of our rivalry , we were not that close on a private level , '' admits Stich .

`` But the good thing was we both had one goal . We wanted to win that medal .

`` After we both lost in the singles , that was the only chance we had -- as a team . We wanted to win the medal so we had to do well in doubles and we were professional enough to just go on that path . ''

15-love : Top tennis romances

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Boris Becker says he has still to celebrate his 1992 Olympic gold medal with doubles partner Michael Stich

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German duo managed to win gold despite an intense tennis rivalry at the time

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Top-flight sport is inundated with examples of teams that have suffered when protagonists have clashed